English
guile
Guile comes from Old French guile ‘deception’, from Frankish *wīl ‘ruse’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wey- ‘to turn, bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wey-‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wīlą‘craft’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*wīl‘ruse’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400guile‘deception’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400gile
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1590guile
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wey-‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wīlą‘craft’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*wīl‘ruse’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400guile‘deception’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400gile
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1590guile
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto I: “Who means no guile, be guiled soonest shall”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wey- ‘to turn, bend’
through Proto-Germanic *wīlą ‘craft’
Today it means
noun Astuteness often marked by a certain sense of cunning or artful deception.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wey- / guile